We offer traditional horse-drawn logging and agricultural services, preserving time-honoured traditions and showcasing the strength and versatility of these wonderful animals.
Here at Cotswold Working Horses, we are members of the British Horse Loggers whose website can be found here.
Forestry work using horses is a highly skilled and environmentally sound method of woodland management. Horses cause a fraction of the damage caused by machinery on the forrest floor, protecting wildlife, flora and fauna and the general woodland environment making this an environmentally sound, sustainable as well as effective method of woodland management.
Only a generation ago, in the 1950’s, horses, especially heavy horses, were a common sight on farms and fields. This of course harks back to a slower pace of life, but also a quieter, more sustainable way to manage farmland and private estates.
We try to carry out as much of our pasture and woodland management as we can with the horses, putting them to work in all four seasons doing traditional work, as well as hiring out to other estates who wish to encourage horse power and traditional heritage meadow management, with its friendly relationship to biodiversity and sustainability.
Meet and get to know Sirrius & Seamus for a weekend working the land, join us for a stay in our smallholding farm Self Catering Accommodation and Horse Weekends here in the Cotswolds.
Our Clydesdale horses do travel, and we can bring them to your land to work here in the Cotswolds and beyond. Our heavy horses are also available for demonstrations and events. Contact us for further conversations about pasture management and forestry work with heavy horses.
Our rare breed Clydesdale boys are also available for film and tv work – please contact us for details.
The Suffolk Punch will keep the road
The Percheron goes gay
The Shire will lean against his load
All through the longest day
But where ploughland meets the heather
And earth from sky divides
Through the misty northern weather
Stepping two and two together
All fire and feather
Come the Clydes!
Will H. Ogilve.
We take health and safety very seriously. However, we are not in a position to offer guarantees. Our activity involves horse drawn transport and horses are by their nature capable of reacting badly to unexpected events. We will of course we do everything we can to keep you, ourselves and our horses safe this includes other road users. However there is always the risk of incident and therefore you must accept there is an element of risk which we cannot eradicate and that you must accept if you are to take part. Cotswold Working Horses carries insurance.
Learn about traditional wood logging with heavy horses.
Forestry work using horses is a highly skilled and environmentally sound method of woodland management. Horses cause a fraction of the damage caused by machinery on the forest floor, protecting wildlife, flora and fauna and the general woodland environment making this an environmentally sound, sustainable as well as effective method of woodland management.
We offer half day to share our knowledge and you can fully experience wood logging on our own land with our pair of Clydesdales, Sirius & Seamus.
Contact us with your enquiry and dates for availability.
If you are travelling far, we have self catering accommodation available to book.
Our experiences should not be a substitute for formal training on horse logging, which should always be arranged through the British Horse Loggers Association.
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